Nature Vs Nurture
by Child of the Gypsies
Summary: The debate concerning the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities "nature" versus personal experiences  "nurture"  in determining or causing individual differences in physical and behavioral traits.  A look at the Shredder.


**Rand0mness:** This little plot bunny has been gnawing at my cerebral cortex(-idk what that is-) for some time now. Takin' a breather from Gunpowder and Lead, and decided to jot this down. Hope y'all like my take on ShredHead!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the TMNT series or any of its characters. That great honor is reserved for Nickelodeon.

…**...**

An abnormally small, wrinkled Utrom lay in the hospital, coughing weakly. Extremely frail, few of the nurses could believe their ears when they heard he was a fairly youthful 973 years. When asked what had happened to make him like this, he often responded, "Time alone does not make you old." His eyes were a testament to that, clouded with cataracts and thousands upon thousands of memories, both pleasant and painful. More important than all of these was the fact that he was, in fact, very close to death. And it was every nurse's personal and professional duty to make sure he was comfortable.

"Mr. Klang, its time for your medicine now." A pretty, bright pink nurse floated in, her hover pad dragging a tray of medical supplies behind her.

"Ah, Kirabona. You know just how to brighten an old Utrom's day. What will it be today? Pills or that vile excuse of a substance you call syrup?" Klang greeted, his raspy voice barely audible.

"Neither. We are going to try an IV drip today. Sort of like a shot. Aren't you lucky?" Kirabona sweetly replied.

"Luck? Feh."

"Feh?"

"Feh." The young nurse seemed to mull this strange new phrase over for a minute, then beamed down at him.

"Feh!" she agreed happily, before turning to the controls to sit Klang up. As he shifted, she noticed the tail end of a dark purple scar in startling contrast to the pale pink- almost white- coloring of his thin, papery skin.

"Oh, dear! Where did you get that?"

"Get what, young one? You younglings these days, always failing to _specify!_ I'm no mind reader, Ms. Kira."

"That scar! The one on your back." At these words, he grew grave, and looked away(, or, at least, away from the general direction of her voice). Kirabona frowned, concern flooding through her.

"Whats wrong?"

"Feh."

"No feh, tell me."

"Feh!"

"Feh is not an answer.

"Feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh."

"Please tell me!" She pleaded. Maneuvering her hover pad so that she floated barely a foot in front of him, she gave him the sweetest, most heart warming smile she could muster, unsure as she was if he could even see it. Klang seemed to waver a bit, then sighed.

"Have you ever -cough- heard of an Utrom named Ch'rell, young one?" Her eyes widened in surprise, wondering what the evil traitor had to do with a scar. _Could he have actually met... no, that can't be possible! _

"Of course you have, what am I asking?" Klang coughed again, then continued. "Every one talks about all the evil he has done. Have you ever met anyone, just once, who wondered who he used to be? Who he was before he become so infamous?"

"Well, I..."

"No, you haven't. Everyone assumes evil men were always evil, right from birth. Why, sometimes, the way they talk about them, it sounds as if they think they simply materialized out of thin air, fully formed and pure evil, with no family, no past, just evil thoughts and a thirst for power, money, and blood." Kirabona stared, shocked at the anger and sadness that filled his voice. _The thing is, he has a point. I know I have rarely thought of it, if at all._

"I don't understand. What does this have to do with-"

"Sh'rakoro."

"Bless you?"

"No, the Sh'rakoro worm. You have heard of it, haven't you?" Kira paused, even more confused.

"Um... yeah. Yes, I think I have. Some of the doctors were talking about it earlier. Its a type of parasite that infects the brain or something."

"More than that. It upsets the chemical balance, causing the host to go insane. They still retain all of their intelligence, but for some reason they no longer can tell right from wrong. Changes the skin color to a dark red, too." Suddenly, he was looking straight into her eyes. What he saw there, she could not tell. That is, if he could see at all. Whatever it was, he must have felt safe enough to go on. "My son was out 'adventuring' when he was infected. He came home feverish and delusional, covered in muck. Had a giant cut over his left eye. That was how the Sh'rakoro got into his blood system. Or, at least, that is what the doctors all said. Got in the cut and traveled to the brain from there..." Klang trailed off, seeming to get lost in his memories. As is on cue, everything fell into place. The more she thought about it, the more everything made sense.

"Was Ch'rell your son, Mr. Klang?" Very slowly, he nodded.

"Such a good boy. Driven. Smart, too. He was a wonderful strategist. A great leader. And the sweetest little thing you ever saw."

"And did he... did he give you that scar?" Her question was met with a chilling silence. "Mr. Klang?"

"I am tired." She stared for a second, surprised by the obvious dismissal.

"Tomorrow, then?"

"Hm." With that, the old Utrom fell asleep.

…**...**

**Rand0mmess:** Now don't get me wrong! I hate the Shredder as much as the next rabid fangirl( or avid fanboy), but I have always wondered WHY he was evil. As for his daddy's age, I took a haphazard guess. The names I made up by combining or modifying names of actual Utroms from the various parts of the TMNT canon. This is just a random musing of mine, so no flaming please. As always, I would love to hear from you all! Review, review, review!


End file.
